Pan Fried Kabocha Japanese Pumpkin Food

JAPANESE STYLE SIMMERED SWEET KABOCHA

Steps:

• Cut kabocha into small chunks about 1 and 1/2 inch cube.
• Leave skin on (the texture of the cooked skin is great!).
• Put dashi soup stock, sugar, soy sauce, and kabocha chunks in a pan.
• Place the pan in high heat and bring it to boil.
• Turn down the heat to low.
• Simmer kabocha until the liquid is almost gone.
• Serve warm or cold. (I prefer it cold).

PAN-FRIED KABOCHA (JAPANESE PUMPKIN)

Steps:

• Give the kabocha a quick rinse and slice off any superficial scars that you don't want to eat.
• Cut the kabocha in half and cut off the stem. Be careful as the kabocha is very hard and can be difficult to cut. Mom likes to insert the knife point first, then cut the rest of kabocha with the knife like a lever.
• Scoop out the seeds with a spoon like a regular pumpkin. The meat should be a light golden yellow-orange.
• Cut the kabocha into large cubes (about 1 - 1½ inch cubes). You can also cut the kabocha into slices like many fancy restaurants do, but cubes are much easier to deal with.
• Chop a large handful of green onions and separate into 2 piles: a larger pile to cook, and a smaller pile for the garnish when plating.
• On a large pan, add a healthy amount of cooking oil.
• When the oil is hot, add the large pile of green onions and stir for several seconds.
• Add all of the pumpkin cubes and stir until the oil completely coats all of the kabocha's surface areas.
• Add shoyu and stir. The amount of shoyu will depend on the size of your kabocha and how salty you want this dish to be. Mom doesn't even measure this anymore and instead just pours some shoyu into the pan straight from the bottle. What you want is just enough shoyu to spread around the whole dish so you can just taste the saltiness, which will match the natural sweetness of the kabocha.
• Adjust the heat to medium and cover for about 15 minutes.
• Check to see if your kabocha is ready by pushing a chopstick all the way through. It should go in and exit out the skin with no resistance. If it's not ready, cover the pan once more and let it cook as needed.Now is a good time to do a taste test and add a pinch of sugar/sweetener if you have an unsweet kabocha (see bottom notes).
• Plate your kabocha and sprinkle the remaining green onions on top to add a bit more color.

KABOCHA NO NIMONO - STEWED PUMPKIN/SQUASH (JAPAN)

Steps:

• Prepare the pumpkin. Mix the other ingredients together.
• Place everything in a large frying pan with the skin face down. Bring to a light boil.
• Reduce heat & place a couple of wet paper towels on top of the pumpkin. (Do not skip this step!).
• Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the pumpkin is nicely cooked, but not soft & mushy.

ROASTED KABOCHA (JAPANESE PUMPKIN) SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F / 175°C.
• Cut kabocha in half, scoop out seeds and membranes, and set aside.
• Prick the kabocha flesh with a fork, brush with olive oil and place face down on a baking dish. Bake for about 40 mins at 350F/175°C or until tender.
• While the kabocha is roasting, clean and dry the seeds (as best you can) and toast them in a dry pan on med-high heat for about 5 minutes or until nicely golden brown and set aside. Alternately, you can bake them in the oven for about 10-20 minutes at 400F / 200°C.
• In a large pot, saute sliced onion in butter until soft.
• When the kabocha is soft, carefully (it's hot!) scoop the flesh in chunks out of the skin and add to the pot with onions. Alternately, you can wait for it too cool or roast it already peeled.
• Add the bouillon powder, water and cinnamon, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Cover the pot to keep it from splattering.
• Pour the mixture into a large bowl. In batches, puree the mixture in a blender (only fill about 3/4 or less full), and add it back to the pan. If you have an immersion blender, even better, and you can just puree it all in the pan.
• Stir in the milk and heat gently over low heat, stirring frequently. Mix in salt and pepper to taste, ladle into bowls and top with toasted seeds.

KABOCHA (JAPANESE PUMPKIN) PIE WITH A COCONUT FLOUR CRUST

Steps:

• COCONUT FLOUR PIE CRUST:.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In medium bowl, beat butter, eggs, and salt together with a fork.
• Add coconut flour. Mix well, until there are no clumps.
• Gather dough into a ball, then pat it into a 9-inch greased pie pan.
• Prick dough with a fork several times.
• Bake for 9 minutes, then let cool.
• PIE FILLING:.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large bowl whisk egg.
• To puree pre-roasted squash, use a food processor, electric mixer or blender. Peel off and discard skin. Depending on size of device used, puree squash in small batches to avoid lumps. Puree should be smooth and slightly silky.
• Add heavy cream and kabocha puree to the bowl; mix well.
• Add coconut flour; mix until there are no more lumps.
• Add spices, sea salt and sweetener of choice; mix well.
• Pour mixture into premade pie crust.
• Carefully place pie on middle rack in oven.
• Bake 20-30 minutes or until a fork inserted into center comes out clean.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

JAPANESE (KABOCHA) PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Cut pumpkin in half. Clean out seeds and rinse leaving the skin on. Cut into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a large pot over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Add pumpkin and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring once. Continue to simmer another 10 minutes or until done. Pumpkin is done when it is easily pierced with a fork or toothpick. Do not overcook or the pumpkin will become mushy.
• Dried shrimp, ebi, can be found in the oriental section of most supermarkets. You can use shrimp bullion or fish stock instead.
• Nutrition information: Calories 70, Fat 2 g., Cholesterol 6 mg., sodium 97 mg. 1 bread exchange. ww points 2.

JAPANESE PUMPKIN SOUP (KABOCHA SOUP)

Steps:

• Cut pumpkin into large blocks and remove seeds.
• Place pumpkin on a plate and heat in microwave for one minute.
• Slice pumpkin thinly.
• Heat butter in saute pan and cook onion slices until softened (not brown).
• Add pumpkin slices to the pan and saute.
• Add chicken bouillon and water and simmer vegetables until softened.
• When cooked, whirl the vegetables and broth in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• Return to the pan and add milk.
• Heat the soup over low heat.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.